A red warning looks like it could be issued for Friday morning across the southwest, west and northwest of Ireland as a named storm looks set to batter the country. The storm will be named Callum.

County's at present which look like they will see the strongest winds include Derry, Donegal, Fermanagh, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Galway, Clare Limerick & Kerry.

A Red wind warning may need to be issued for these county's as there is the risk of severe and damaging gusts currently showing in excess of 150km/hr.

If a Red wind warning needs to be issued it will be issued as early as Wednesday night by Met.ie.

Continues below

On Friday morning there will be the risk of coastal flooding across Ireland due to a storm surge combining with high tides which could lead to flooding along southwestern, western and some parts of the northwest.

A spell of heavy rain will also effect Ireland on Friday morning with the risk of spot flooding. The main concern for rainfall will be Friday night and Saturday morning when a very heavy spell of rain is set give large accumulations of rain across parts of Ireland with with up to 60mm at present the heaviest falls look set to be across east Munster and Leinster.

If the storms path shows a little further eastwards over the Atlantic Ocean there may be no need for a red warning.

Keep a eye on the forecast over the next 72 hours for updates.

jet stream

The reason for this storm is due to a strong jet stream which acts like a conveyor belt rolling areas of low pressure in of the Atlantic. Shown in the chart above the jet stream will be very strong on Friday morning above Ireland.

Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow, meandering air currents in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. On Earth, the main jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds (flowing west to east). Their paths typically have a meandering shape. Jet streams may start, stop, split into two or more parts, combine into one stream, or flow in various directions including opposite to the direction of the remainder of the jet. The jet stream wind speeds can exceed 320km/hr at its strongest.

Meteorologists use the location of some of the jet streams as an aid in weather forecasting.